Previews

Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict

The biggest new character in the game, however, is one that many of us have seen plenty of times before. It was announced a few months ago that a character from Midway's popular Mortal Kombat series would be making an appearance, and we finally got our first look at who would be stepping into the Unreal arena. For all of you who were hoping to try your hand at Johnny Cage, I'm sorry to say that you'll be disappointed. The man with the electric touch, Raiden, is going to be making an appearance in the game, although we were told that he'll have to be unlocked first. Many of his powers made the transition intact, including the ability to teleport behind his foes, as well as rocket across the screen into an opponent's chest. If that wasn't enough, stunning an enemy will give Raiden the chance to perform his classic finishing move, pumping his foe with electricity before watching him explode in a shower of gibs. If anyone was doubting this inclusion, your fears will be allayed after you see this for the first time.

There are a wide variety of game modes in Unreal Championship 2, from old standards like Capture the Flag, Survival, and Team Deathmatch to some new gametypes, such as Nali Slaughter (in which you are tasked with killing as many of the peaceful Nali race as possible). However, by far the coolest new mode is Overdose, a game that actually requires quick thinking as much as it does quick reaction time. In short, the object of the game is to race to pick up a radioactive ball before bringing it to a drop off point. Getting the ball to the drop spot will give you points, and the first player to a set point level will be declared the winner. You can also get points for killing the ball carrier, as well as for killing anyone else who might get in your way.

However, there are quite a few twists to the game, forcing you to strategize a bit as you play. First, there are two drop pointsoin each map, a white one and an orange one. When you pick up the ball, it will shine one of these two colors. If you can drop the ball at the point with the corresponding color (it's usually further away from the ball's spawn point), you'll get more points that you would if you brought it to the other base. While you'll get a higher score, your enemies will also get more chances to take you out, so you've got to decide whether it's more important to rack up the points faster by going to the closer base, or waiting for the bigger payoff and hoping that you can make it through unscathed.

The other thing that must be taken into consideration is the fact that, on the right side of the screen, you have a radiation meter. As you hold the ball (it's radioactive, remember?), this meter will slowly fill up. Once it's full and you drop the ball, you'll be blessed with a ton of advantageous powers, including invisibility, much stronger melee attacks, as well as a few others. Again, you've got some decisions to make. Will you hold on to the ball longer and try to dodge your opponents' attacks, trying to collect more radiation? Since it's a cumulative effect, will you try to make as many runs as possible, focusing more on getting the drop points than the kill points? There are a lot of choices to be made, making Overdose one of the coolest (and innovative) game types I've seen in quite some time.

While it's definitely a different animal than Halo 2, there's no arguing that Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict is going to be the next big thing on Xbox Live. The game brings a lot of innovations to the table, including the ability to switch perspectives, melee attack your foes, and reflect their shots back in their mugs. Some people might be put off by the intense, hectic action, but there's no question that the majority of fans will be very happy with this conflict.